Tripped Breaker, GFCI, or Outlet Fault
No power reaching the fridge at all — the commonest simple cause, and the first thing to rule out.
A refrigerator that will not turn on is an urgent call, not a wait-and-see problem: every hour costs food. Potomac Refrigerator Pros takes no-power calls by phone only, Monday to Sunday, 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Call (301) 368-8305 and say whether the lights work, whether anything hums or clicks, and whether the outage followed a storm. A written estimate comes before work starts — no form, no email booking.
Serving Potomac, North Potomac and Montgomery County, MD, centered in Potomac Village, MD 20854
Monday to Sunday, 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Name the exact symptom when you call, because a dead fridge is not one fault: completely dead, with no lights, no fan, and no sound; lights on but the compressor never starts; starting, then stopping, with repeated clicking; dead after a power outage or storm; a garage unit dead in extreme cold or heat; or a built-in unit dead with no obvious cause. The food clock starts at once: a closed fridge holds about 4 hours, per FoodSafety.gov, and perishables above 40°F for over 2 hours — 1 hour if above 90°F — should be discarded. Potomac storm history matters here: summer thunderstorms and winter ice can cut power, so the first question is often whether the fridge itself is broken, or whether an outage or surge tripped it.
No single symptom maps to one part. Diagnosis is inspection, with a multimeter and temperature readings, not a phone guess.
No power reaching the fridge at all — the commonest simple cause, and the first thing to rule out.
A damaged cord or a plug not fully seated stops the fridge dead.
Repeated clicking at startup, with the compressor failing to start.
A control that never calls for cooling leaves the fridge silent and warm.
Erratic behaviour, flashing codes, or no response from the controls often points here.
A compressor that hums, then clicks off, or never starts. Technician-only, and usually the most expensive outcome.
Check the breaker and GFCI, check that the plug is fully seated, and check the temperature setting. Note exactly what happens: no lights at all, lights on with no fan, clicking, or an error code, plus the brand and model if known. Keep the door closed and move perishables to a cooler if you can. Stop and call if you smell burning, see sparking, or the breaker trips again — do not keep resetting a tripping breaker, and never remove covers or touch wiring. If water has reached electrics or outlets, do not touch the unit; switch off at the breaker if safe and call a professional.
Call: Call (301) 368-8305 with brand and model if known, lights, sounds, any error code, whether a storm or outage came first, and your area or ZIP code.
Diagnose on Site: Outlet, power cord, start relay, thermostat, control board, and compressor are tested with a multimeter. The failed part is named, not guessed.
Written Estimate Before Work: Plain-language diagnosis and estimate first, and you decide. A board or sealed-system failure on an old unit, with the replacement comparison, comes before any work.
Repair and Test: The failed part is replaced and the unit is powered up and temperature-tested — fridge at or below 40°F, freezer at 0°F — before the visit ends.
After: What to watch for on the next cycles, and how to note a repeat trip or error code. No fixed-for-life promise, and no warranty term — warranty terms are unconfirmed and must come from the partner.
No Potomac-specific repair price dataset exists, and none is invented here. Market figures, not a quote, and not a Potomac price. Your written estimate is the only price that counts.
$138–$350 typical, most around $220.
Source: Thumbtack refrigerator repair cost, 2026.
$200–$1,300, average $650, most $300–$1,000 — higher, likely including larger and sealed-system jobs.
Source: HomeAdvisor refrigerator repair cost, 2025.
By part, HomeAdvisor: control board $80–$800, thermostat $100–$440, compressor $200–$450.
If repair costs more than about half a comparable new unit, replacement is usually favoured; if far less, repair usually wins. Lifespans (Fridge.com analysis of DOE/AHAM data) are about 14 years for a top-freezer, 13 for a bottom-freezer, and 12 for side-by-side and French-door units, with built-ins about 15 years — guides, not promises.
Repair almost always.
Apply the 50% test: a start relay or thermostat is an easy yes, while a control board or sealed-system repair near half the replacement price is not.
Apply the 50% test; minor fixes such as a seal, filter, valve, or thermostat can be worth it at any age.
With a major failure, replacement is usually favoured; sealed-system repair on a standard unit over 10 years old rarely pays.
The exception: a repair buying two or three more years on a perfectly fitting unit can beat a swap needing joinery, and replacement add-ons can add several hundred dollars.
Call (301) 368-8305, Monday to Sunday, 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Serving Potomac, North Potomac and Montgomery County, MD, centered in Potomac Village, MD 20854. Outside this area, say your ZIP code on the call so range can be checked honestly.
Work is performed by a Maryland licensed holder.
Not sure you are in range? Call with your ZIP code — we are always happy to check.
Montgomery County, MD
Montgomery County, MD
Montgomery County, MD
Montgomery County, MD
Montgomery County, MD
Montgomery County, MD
Montgomery County, MD
Montgomery County, MD
Montgomery County, MD
Montgomery County, MD
Straight answers for a refrigerator that will not turn on in Potomac, MD — diagnosis first, written estimate before work.
A completely dead refrigerator usually has no power reaching it, or a failed control, start relay, or compressor. The commonest simple causes are a tripped breaker, a tripped GFCI, or a faulty outlet — which is why power is checked before any part is blamed.
Detail: Check the breaker and GFCI and whether the plug is fully seated, then note whether any light works. If power is present but nothing runs, the fault is in a part and needs diagnosis with a multimeter. Source: market research, symptom-to-cause table.
Lights on with no fan, no compressor, and no cooling usually means power reaches the cabinet but the cooling circuit is not starting. The likely causes are a start relay fault, a thermostat or control fault, or a control board fault, rather than a dead outlet.
Detail: Note whether you hear clicking, whether the compressor hums then stops, and any error code. A technician tests relay, thermostat, board, and compressor in turn, rather than replacing parts on a guess. Source: market research, symptom-to-cause table.
An outage itself usually does not kill a fridge, but the surge or the breaker trip that comes with it can trip protection, damage a control board, or leave a start relay failing. After a storm outage, the first checks are the breaker, the GFCI, and whether other outlets on the circuit work.
Detail: Montgomery County storm history includes widespread Pepco outages, so post-storm no-power calls are common. If the breaker trips again, or you smell burning, stop and call a professional. Source: market research, storms and outages section.
A fridge that keeps tripping its breaker usually has a short, a failing start relay or compressor, or a control fault drawing excess current — not a breaker that simply needs resetting. Repeated tripping is a stop-and-call symptom, because resetting it again and again hides the fault.
Detail: Do not keep resetting the breaker, and never remove covers to look for the fault yourself. Note how often it trips and whether it trips at startup, and give those facts on the call. Source: market research, electrical safety guidance.
Many standard refrigerators sense temperature only in the fresh-food section, so in cold ambient air the compressor may not run enough — and in a cold garage a unit can appear dead or fail to freeze correctly. This is a known mechanism for garage and unheated-space units, not a Potomac measurement.
Detail: Check whether the unit is rated for low ambient temperatures, and take a thermometer reading in both sections. If the unit is not rated for the cold, or it stays warm after warming weather returns, it needs diagnosis. Source: market research, winter cold section.
Tell the technician the brand and model if known, whether any light works, what you hear — silence, humming, or clicking — any error code, whether a storm or outage came first, and your area or ZIP code. Those facts narrow the diagnosis more than saying the fridge is broken.
Detail: Also say how long it has been off and whether food is already at risk, so urgency is judged honestly. Keep the door closed meanwhile; a closed fridge holds about 4 hours, per FoodSafety.gov. Source: market research, process and food-safety sections.
It depends on the fault, not the symptom alone. A relay, thermostat, or outlet fault is usually worth repairing at any age, while a control board or sealed-system failure on a standard unit over 10 years old usually is not, because the repair approaches replacement value.
Detail: Apply the 50% rule: if repair exceeds about half a comparable new unit, replacement is usually favoured. Get the written estimate first, and compare with a new unit including delivery and installation. Source: market research, repair-versus-replace framework.
Fridge will not turn on? Call (301) 368-8305 and tell us the brand, model, and symptoms. You get a written estimate before any work starts. No form, no email booking — phone only.
Call (301) 368-8305Service Area Map, centered on Potomac Village, MD 20854, as a geographic center only.